was a Japanese politician who served as foreign minister for six months in 1974.

Early life

Kimura was born into a politically active family on 15 January 1909. His father and grandfather were both lawmakers.

Career

Kimura was elected to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

for 12 times as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). In addition, he served as chief cabinet secretary in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Eisaku Satō. He was also chairman of the Parliamentarians' League for Japan-Palestine Friendship. He organized

Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...

's visit to Japan in 1981. His other posts include director-general of the economic planning agency and deputy chief cabinet secretary. In 1971, Kimura served as acting foreign minister. He was appointed foreign minister by Prime Minister

Kakuei Tanaka was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1972 to 1974. Known for his background in construction and earthy and tenacious political style, Tanaka is the only modern Japanese prime minister who ...

in mid-July 1974, replacing

Masayoshi Ohira Masayoshi is a masculine Japanese given name. Written forms Masayoshi can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *, "correct, justice, righteous; wherefore, a reason" *, "correct, justice, righteous; righteousness, justice, m ...

in the post. Kimura was in office for six months in 1974. Kimura visited

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

in late October and early November 1974 which initiated a cooperation between African countries and Japan. He was the first senior Japanese government official to visit African countries. His Africa visit included

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

(now the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

, and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Then Kimura became head of the LDP's Asian-African Studies Group in 1977.

Personal life and death

Kimura was married and had a daughter. He died of a heart attack at a hospital in Tokyo on 1 December 1983 at age 74.

Honours

* Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (3 November 1983)

References

External links

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kimura, Toshio 1909 births 1983 deaths Ministers for foreign affairs of Japan Government ministers of Japan Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians Members of the House of Representatives (Japan)